Research

RESEARCH

Do you fidget?

As you read this, are you giggling your leg? Flicking your pen? Nibbling on your nails? Twirling your hair? Do you rock back and forth to focus or fall asleep? In essence... Are you fidgeting? Many of us fidget in some way. --I am a proud fidgeter. I need to fidget when I am working... As I am now.-- But why? Why can't I stop wiggling? What is the purpose of all this fidgeting?!

I am working on developing the Fidget Assessment Battery, the (FAB) survey to investigate the ways and reasons we fidget. If you'd like to help, please consider taking the FAB survey below!

One of the criteria for ASD diagnosis is “restricted, repetitive pattern of behavior” including “stereotyped or repetitive motor movements,” also known as “stimming” behavior. Similarly, “fidgeting” is one of the core symptoms of ADHD. Both of these types of motor movements are considered to purposeless. The research investigating these two key diagnostic criteria are by and large restricted to behavioral studies focused on the reduction of the behaviors as opposed to understanding the behaviors. Furthermore, little to no electrophysiological research has been conducted in this domain, possibly due to data confounding movement artifacts that could not perviously be controlled. Here we look to understand the function of these behaviors to 1) gain insight into the movement aspect of certain disorders, 2) develop less intrusive inventions that provide the stimulation these individuals seek, and 3) to understand how self-stimulation can serve to modulate arousal.